Tasmanian pair called up by Kookaburras

Two Tasmanians have been called up by the Kookaburras for the upcoming trans-Tasman series in New Zealand as well as the international festival of hockey in Melbourne.

Just a couple of months after Tim Deavin and Eddie Ockenden represented Australia at the Olympic Games, Hobart duo Jeremy Edwards and Kurt Mackey are hoping to follow a similar pathway.

This is the perfect and much needed time to look wider afield - Kookaburras head coach Paul Gaudoin

The pair were among a team of 18 athletes selected for the inaugural trans-Tasman series in Auckland from November 17-20 and were also named in a squad of 25 to compete against India, Malaysia and New Zealand in Melbourne on November 23-30.

The four-nation tournament will be followed by a test series against India in Bendigo.

Kookaburras head coach Paul Gaudoin said: “There is a clear focus on moving forward to the next four-year cycle as we look to develop a squad for Tokyo 2020.

“With many of our current athletes overseas or having time away from the high performance environment, this is the perfect and much needed time to look wider afield. “

He added: “We believe we have selected an exciting and highly capable athlete group.”